From the Lips of a Rose
by Jazlynn
Summary: We know of the members of Organization XIII. But what about their loved ones? How were their lives affected by the loss of their family and friends? This is the story of Marluxia's sister and how she coped with his disappearance. For Totschafe's Challenge


Hey guys

Hey guys! Well, this was inspired by Totschafe's challenge on GaiaOnline. I will be writing 40 One-Shots that each have their own theme and they will all be posted right here. Anyways, my stories are going to be centered on a new OC of mine who is Marluxia's little sister. I'm really excited about this and I hope that you guys will read all of these (and put up with my delay on my other stories) and enjoy them. The theme for this One-Shot is "Pulse".

**Bah-bump. Bah-bump. Bah-bump.**

It is a rare feeling when you can feel your own blood rushing through your veins. It is a strange thing when your heartbeat is the loudest thing that you can hear. You know that the world around you is in absolute chaos but, all you can hear other than an eerie silence is the heavy beating of your heart.

This feeling was what plagued a young girl as she stood in a street where many soldiers were gathered.

The skies were clear and the warm sunshine shone down on the families who had gathered to bid farewell to their husbands, brothers, and sons. It absolutely sickened the young femme how the day seemed so nice. The mood of the events would have suggested otherwise. It should have been cold and rainy.

"Rose?"

The girl snapped out of her daydreams and looked at a tall man with long brown hair and deep sapphire eyes. He wore a tan outfit that many of the other men wore and, to Rose, this was a death sentence. It meant that she may never ever see her _brother_ again.

A single tear cascaded down her cheek as she answered him. "Yes, Liam?"

Liam frowned and extended his hand forward to wipe the tear away. Worry was clearly evident on his face and Rose knew that he didn't want to have to leave her. But alas, duty called and her beloved brother had to go off to war. Just the thought of it made more tears spring to Rose's eyes. She lowered her head in shame for letting her brother see her like this.

"Rosie," Liam started softly, "you promised me that you wouldn't cry."

That only caused Rose's tears to waterfall down her cheeks. She started to sob uncontrollably and even when her brother embraced her tightly, she couldn't bring herself to stop. She felt like her heart was lodged in her throat and that her stomach was twisted into tight knots that simply wouldn't come undone. The pain of it was unbearable and Rose didn't want to have to live with it.

"Don't leave…" She whimpered softly. "I don't want you to leave…"

"I know," he replied sympathetically while stroking her soft brown hair. "I don't want to leave either. Unfortunately, it is my duty to serve my country and I will be arrested if I don't go."

"It's not fair!" Rose cried out through sobs.

Liam frowned at her once more but hugged her more tightly than before. "I know it's not fair. However, I _will_ come back to you. That's a promise. But, for now, you need to take care of our mother. Can you do that for me while I'm away?"

Rose looked up at him with her sapphire, tear-filled eyes and nodded. She could fulfill his wish. After all, it was something that she'd been accomplishing even when Liam was there to help her. She could take care of their sickly mother on her own.

"Liam?" She started softly, a question flickering in her eyes.

He looked at her with a forced smile. "Yes, Rosie?"

"Are you going to be a hero?"

Liam's smile became genuine after Rose said that. "Yes, I am. I'll be fighting to protect both you and mom. I'd say that makes me a hero."

More tears fell from Rose's eyes when her brother said this. She clung to him tightly in their final bittersweet moment before a trumpet sounded. Liam pulled away from Rose with a frown and Rose knew that he was trying to hide the anguish that he was inevitably feeling. Her brother was not the kind of person whom she imagined would go to war. He was kind and compassionate. He had a great distaste for violence. Now, he was given no other choice but to fight.

"I guess that means I have to go now." Liam said quietly.

"Yeah… I guess it does." Rose replied, almost in a whisper.

"Be good while I'm gone, okay?"

With that, Liam gently pulled Rose close to her and placed a chaste kiss on her lips before he left to go join the other soldiers. More tears fell down Rose's cheeks and she tried to brush them away while forcing a smile on her face. She raised her arms and waved as the soldiers began to walk away. Liam was waving at her as well.

When the soldiers were a fair distance away, Rose realized something horrible. She felt her blood rushing through her veins once again and she suddenly felt dizzy. She forgot. She forgot to tell him. She forgot to tell him the most important thing that she had wanted to tell him before he left.

A rush of panic swept over her and the next thing she knew, she was running through those emerald fields as fast as she possibly could. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest faster and faster and faster until it felt like she was about to burst. Her legs were about to give out underneath her since she never ran like this. But she had to reach him; she had to tell him her message.

She saw Liam turn and start to come back towards her but, he was stopped by an officer. His expression was so helpless. Rose knew that he wanted to come running back to her. She had to get closer to him. She had to tell him. She ran and ran until she could run no more. She still wasn't close enough but, she had to try to make him hear her. Taking in a deep breath, she yelled out at the top of her lungs.

"Liam, I love you!"

He called back to her but his voice was only a murmur. He only spoke one word from the sound of it but, Rose still couldn't tell what he'd said. She tried calling out to him again, trying to be louder.

"I love you, Liam!"

It looked like Liam was going to try to call back to her but one of those damned officer's restrained him from doing so. Looking helpless, Liam had to walk on and leave Rose behind. Rose, in the same place where she'd stopped running just watched as he left. When her brother was almost out of sight, she fell to the ground, still in shock and disbelief. He hadn't heard her. She _knew_ that he hadn't heard her.

All she could hear was her heart pounding in her head and all she could feel was her pulse, flooding her veins with new blood. Other than that, there was nothing but silence.


End file.
